Unit has launched SWIFT-based international payments, letting partners offer cross-border payouts on their existing banking set-up.
Unit has introduced international payments, enabling companies that build on its platform to offer their customers cross-border payouts over the SWIFT network, which reaches banks in more than 190 countries and territories. The service is aimed at customers who need to pay vendors, contractors, suppliers, or service providers outside the US. International payments sit alongside accounts, cards, and existing payment rails, including ACH, real-time payments (RTP), wires, and cheques, within the same product experience. They use the same ledger and dashboard, and settle against the bank relationship each company already operates.
Transparency on rates and fees
For each international payment, customers can see transaction-level data on exchange rates, fees, expected recipient amounts, and payment status from initiation through to completion. Each payment begins with a quote that locks the exchange rate and shows the amount being sent, the fees, and the amount the recipient will receive in their local currency. The customer reviews and approves these terms before the payment is sent, giving them a clear view of the foreign exchange costs upfront.
Unit has also designed the service to handle cases in which international payments fail in ways domestic ones typically do not. Each scenario is processed as a distinct, structured event through the API, allowing companies to guide their customers on next steps. If a payment is returned, for example, the funds are routed back to the originating account automatically, and the return is surfaced with its status and reason. Companies can then build their own logic around the outcome, such as notifying the customer, reconciling the payment, or offering a way to retry.
Integration through the Unit API
Partners can add international payout capabilities through the Unit API. In a typical flow, a customer selects or adds a beneficiary, enters an amount in either US dollars or a foreign currency, and reviews the exchange rate and applicable fees before submitting the payment. Customers provide standard beneficiary details, such as a SWIFT/BIC code and an account number or IBAN, so recipients do not need to supply additional information or set up anything new.
Companies can monitor their customers’ international payment activity in the Unit Dashboard, alongside the rest of their account activity. By adding cross-border payouts to the same infrastructure used for accounts, cards, and domestic payments, the launch allows companies on Unit to offer international transfers without integrating a separate provider or managing a separate ledger.
